


tomorrow will be different

by InLust



Category: For the People (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Canon Divergence, Enemies to Friends, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, intense hugging, sandra is mean and she has a crush on kate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2020-01-25 18:57:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18580597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InLust/pseuds/InLust
Summary: Sandra reels from her decision and finds herself angry at Kate Littlejohn.post s2e7





	tomorrow will be different

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tillthestarsevaporate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tillthestarsevaporate/gifts), [funnyhowthatis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/funnyhowthatis/gifts).



> YESSSSSSSSSSSSS there are like 3 different versions of this story now and yall can find them by the authors i gifted this to because like...i dont know how to tag someone IN this note [i'm lazy to learn] anyway let us know what yall think
> 
> i wrote this, posted this, and im pretty sure i didn't do editing im exhausted
> 
> i hope yall enjoy this you can kind of read into it like it's canon to my other fics but this is mostly a standalone

The air feels thick and sickening for Sandra. Her emotions have left her raw and exhausted. 

Yet, Allison stands in the doorway, turning resolutely to say, “I love you, Sandy.” With promises of being home that Sandra wishes she could reciprocate to follow but can’t. 

The office is completely empty and deafeningly silent as Sandra sits there with heavy heart. She doesn’t know where to go from here or what to do. Everything in the last day and a half has left her more than emotionally spent but she can’t sit still. She can’t just move on. 

She was supposed to protect her client. A man is dead because of her client. Her client is in jail because of her. 

Sandra rubs her face, deeply inhaling like she’s finally coming up for air. Her eyes scan her office and finds the box of Clue on the credenza. 

**Kate**. 

Her chest tightens at the thought of the prosecutor. 

_ Forget about Sandra the Defender. What about Sandra the person? It’s your call. _

_Sandra_. 

She feels her pulse race as she stands wearily. **Kate**. She lets out a small groan because through her exhaustion she feels her frustration. 

If it weren’t for Kate she wouldn’t be in this situation. She wouldn’t have turned on her client like that. She could’ve done her job. She should’ve done her job. 

There’s a light knock on her door. 

Before Sandra can respond, it slowly opens and standing before her is Kate. Sandra bites her lip to stop herself from speaking. 

Kate clutches her purse between her hands as she steps in. The look on her face is full of warmth and compassion, just like Allison’s. It feels undeserving.

She can’t bear to return the gaze and turns her back, grabbing her purse and jacket. 

“Sandra,” Kate opens timidly. There’s a brief pause. “Are you okay?” 

Sandra bites the inside of her cheek. Everything inside of her threatens to crumble into tears once again. She’s just too tired. “I’m fine.” She straightens her back, trying to stand tall as she slips into her jacket. “What’re you doing here?” Her voice tightens, trying desperately not to crack. 

Kate steps beside Sandra until they’re face to face. 

The tightness in Sandra’s heart doesn’t go away. She can feel her heart race even faster at Kate’s proximity. Again, she sees the concerned look on Kate’s face. 

“I thought to call, but--” 

“You’re here.” Sandra feels impatient. She can’t do this. She can’t just talk to Kate like she didn’t have a hand in this. _Sandra the person._ In this moment, she doesn’t want to be Sandra the person because Sandra the person was wrong. Sandra the person did the wrong thing and it’s Kate’s fault. 

“I am,” Kate responds bluntly. 

“What do you want?” Sandra all but sighs out. 

Kate simply raises an eyebrow at Sandra. “I came to check on you.” 

“You didn’t have to.” 

“I wanted to. In case you wanted to talk.” 

Sandra’s jaw tightens. “I’m done talking to you.” 

Kate doesn’t respond. Her face remains impassive as she stares at Sandra. 

The way her eyes meet Sandra’s feels like she’s stepping straight into her soul. Sandra can only feel herself shut the door as hard as she can. It was stupid of her to go to Kate. And now she’s here. Sandra doesn’t want her to be there taking up space in her head, making her heart race, threatening to care about her. 

Sandra brushes by Kate in the hopes that they were truly done. 

“You’re angry,” Kate’s voice cuts through the tension. 

Sandra stops at the doorway, willing herself to just ignore Kate and leave.

“The decision that you made today was--” 

Sandra clutches her bag until her knuckles are white. “It wasn’t right,” Sandra whips around to stop Kate from sounding like everyone else. “It wasn’t the right decision to make and I don’t want to hear it from anyone anymore. Especially from _you_.” 

Kate doesn’t say anything. She tilts her head waiting for Sandra to continue.

Sandra fights the urge to give in to her emotions any longer but it’s futile. Without thinking, she steps back towards Kate, heart pounding and emotions flaring. “ _You_ said that I could be Sandra the Person. Not Sandra the Defender. And I was stupid enough to listen to _you_. This isn’t a role in my life Kate, this is me. _This is who I am_. Sandra the person is Sandra the defender. I am a **defender**. I help those who can’t help themselves, who need someone on their side when it comes down to the wire. I betrayed a man today. He is going to jail. Because of--” 

Sandra chokes on her words. The tears burn her eyes as they stream down her face. She tries to swallow the lump in her throat to keep talking but she can’t. She quietly sobs and points at Kate. 

“This is _your_ \--” a small hiccup escapes her throat. “--fault.” 

Kate softens significantly. She wordlessly closes the distance between them, wrapping Sandra in a hug.

Sandra sobs being pulled into Kate’s arms, face buried in her jacket as she grasps the back of it tightly. She clutches harshly, fingers digging into the blended wool. She wants to push Kate away, as far as possible, just to stop her heart from pounding inside of her and stop the tears from falling. 

The thought of putting distance between them only makes Sandra hold on more tightly. Kate holding her is the only thing that makes sense. She doesn’t want to let go.

She feels Kate’s hand stroke her hair and her eyes shut. She sighs and her body pressed against Kate.

“The decision that you made today was difficult,” Kate begins. Sandra doesn’t push Kate away. She feels her heart slow down and the exhaustion starts to settle in her limbs. It feels like Kate is the only thing holding her up. “It’s a decision that no one ever expects to have to make, but you made one. Whether it was right or wrong isn’t for me to decide. It’s up to you.” 

Sandra buries her face in Kate’s jacket, angrily. 

Kate tips back just a bit at Sandra’s force but doesn’t let go. She rubs her back to soothe her. “ _I know._ I know that I said that you could be Sandra the person, that you didn’t need to be Sandra the defender.” Sandra senses a but; it doesn’t come. Kate’s chest rises as she takes a breath for her carefully chosen words. “If Sandra the defender and the person are one in the same, if that is who you really are, then that is okay. Not every case is won. Not every client is saved. Not every decision we make is perfect. _We_ are not perfect.” 

Sandra relaxes her grip on Kate’s jacket and flattens her palms against her back. She shakes in Kate’s arms.

“You can blame me. You can be angry at me.” 

Sandra shuts her eyes and swallows hard. “Stop being nice. I was just being mean to you.” 

“Oh,” Kate realizes. “I wasn’t trying to be nice. I was going to say that you are really just blaming yourself.” 

Sandra actually laughs and pulls herself from Kate just to shove her. “Shut up.” She rubs away the tears from her face. 

Kate looks mildly confused. “I’m being honest. Your anger and frustration are misplaced towards me. I understand it was a tough decision and I’m not saying I know what you’re going through, but you made a decision. It’s not one you like but it’s the most you can do for this situation. You will have more cases, you will have more clients. And you can take what you’ve learned today for what you can do tomorrow.”

“Do you have to sound so rational?” Sandra sniffles. 

“I--” Kate stops talking.

Sandra opens her eyes to glance the sudden quiet. Kate’s cheeks are pinking. Just when she thought her heart would stop racing, it picks up at Kate’s uncertain expression. 

Kate’s right. _Of course she is._

Sandra takes a deep breath and exhales all the weight in her chest. “I’m sorry.” 

Kate tilts her head with interest. “I’m not following.”

“I’m sorry for trying to blame you for the decision I made,” Sandra tries her best not to grit it out. “I don’t think this is something I can just let go, but you’re right. I will have more cases, more clients. Tomorrow will be another day and I will have to make more decisions. _Better_ decisions.” 

Kate smiles warmly at her. Sandra can’t help but share a small smile back.  

Sandra feels emptied of her emotions. The weight she was carrying in her chest has dissipated significantly. It's because of Kate. She looks at the wet spot on Kate’s jacket and frowns, reaching out to brush it. “Sorry about this too,” she says guiltily.  

Kate looks to Sandra’s hand pressed against her shoulder. “It’s fine, it’s just a jacket.” She makes no move to shift away and Sandra doesn’t move her hand. 

Sandra purses her lips thoughtfully. Her heart still pounds inside of chest. She wasn’t mad at Kate. She was far from it this whole time as she comes to realize. She bites her bottom lip. Her eyes flicker to Kate’s lips. 

Kate’s hand on hers breaks her out of her thoughts. “Are you okay?” 

Sandra slips her hand from Kate’s like she’s on fire. Her whole body warms at the touch, even though Sandra had been clinging onto Kate for dear life. At the reminder, Sandra feels like she’s caught in a wildfire suddenly. She tucks her hair behind her ears and steps back to give them some distance. 

“I’m okay,” she says shakily. “Thank you. For this. For checking up on me.” She feels nervous. Why does she feel nervous?

The corner of Kate’s lip twitches up. “Anytime,” she says like a promise.

Sandra feels her heart swell inside of her. 

Anytime sounds good.

**Author's Note:**

> i heavily debated letting them kiss but i wanted some UST trollololol
> 
> come yell at me on nocteverbascio.tumblr.com


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